"Serbian Railways" registered losses of about 6 billion RSD

Public company "Serbian Railways" announced yesterday (December 29, 2009) that the estimates were that the company's losses in 2009 would range between 5.5 and 6 billion RSD, 1 billion RSD less than in 2008.

The Director General of "Serbian Railways", Milovan Marković, said that the continuation of modernization of railways was in the pipeline for the next year, while the priorities were Corridor 10 and procurement of new vehicles.

As he explained, "Railways" intends to take 10m EUR from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 150m EUR from European Investment Bank, 37m EUR from the Government of Spain, 45m EUR from the Government of Germany, and 120m EUR from Czech Export Bank in 2010.

"Serbian Railways" will also apply for Eurofima's loan of 100m CHF for procurement of new vehicles.

He said that the negotiations on the loan of 600m EUR with the Government of Russia were underway, which, if granted, would be used for construction of the Belgrade railway hub, railway station Beograd Centar in Prokop, Valjevo-Loznica and Niš-Dimitrovgrad railways.

The CEO of Serbian Railways, Milovan Marković, said at the press conference that 8.5m passengers had been transported in 2009, which was 20% more than planned, and that the incomes amounted to 1.7 billion RSD.